


Long Walks on the Beach

by GuardianofFun



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: M/M, bad attempts at water polo, beach trip episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 17:31:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11362227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianofFun/pseuds/GuardianofFun
Summary: For once, shore leave that doesn't result in injury (or kidnapping) for anyone. It may however be a huge ploy orchestrated by two lovesick idiots who will go to stupid lengths to spend time together.





	Long Walks on the Beach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mrpicard](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrpicard/gifts).



> Written off a prompt from mrpicard, I tried to incorporate some fluffy Archer, a bit of crew bonding and polo as well as some nice Shrarcher (??) to make this. I am bad at sports so please excuse my murder of water polo and also im sorry i put Malcolm into it i just can't help myself whoops. be lucky i revised this because in the first draft the polo happened in a pool and malcolm got a broken nose out of it ahahah
> 
> i mean there are vague suggestions of Trip/Malcolm and Hoshi/T'Pol but you can probably ignore if you don't like. 
> 
> (ps sorry for making trip say yaint it's a failing of mine)

“You’ve got that look in your eyes, Jon,” Trip said over his beer before taking a swig. His friend sat across the table from him, thoughtfully staring into his own glass. He was paying little attention to the game playing on the screen beside them, which was unusual, and the ball he held in his hands was still. At his name, the captain's head lifted and he gave Trip a smile. Trip snorted as he lowered his glass.  

“Y’aint mooning over your alien boyfriend again are you?” he jibed and Archer spluttered. 

“No, I’m-” Trip barked triumphantly. “Aha! So he _is_ your boyfriend!” Archer threw him the most menacing glare he could, but there was a smile threatening to break out. He sighed instead, running a hand across the back of his neck.

“I think we’re both a little too old for that nonsense,” he said and Trip snorted again.

“Oh sorry what do we call it then?” he asked, his voice suddenly rising in a bad imitation of Malcolm’s accent. “Oh are we _lovebirds_ hmm? Just a coupl’a courting gentlemen?” The voice alone was enough to have Archer doubled over, but he still felt the need to throw the ball at him. Too busy laughing to himself, Trip didn’t notice the ball until it hit him square in the chest. Archer let out a victorious whoop while Trip wheezed, pawing at his chest with a pout.

“Just ‘cause you’re not gonna see him for a while,” he grumbled, “Doesn’t mean you should take it out on _me!”_ Jon smirked and then took another swig of his drink. He shook his head, still laughing.

“Actually,” he said and Trip’s eyebrows shot up. “We might cross paths sometime soon.” He leant back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head.

“Nothing’s set in stone yet, but I think it’s about time we had a crew vacation.” Trip perked up at that, a grin already creeping onto his face.

“Don’t go saying anything-” Archer warned, and Trip ran a hand across his heart. “- but according to the Vulcan database there’s a planet we should pass in a few weeks; how’s a weekend on a planet that’s always in summer sound?” He asked. Trip’s face took on a dreamy, far off look.

“That sounds brilliant…”

* * *

Indeed, a few weeks later they did happen across the _Kumari,_ and Archer couldn’t help the small flutter in his chest as they hailed the ship. The stony face of his not-quite boyfriend softened a little as he connected but they managed to both act like respectable captains as they made official small talk. Trip had found his way to the bridge of course, and Archer could sense the smug look on his face without looking at him.

Passing it off as a chance to improve interplanetary relations, Archer mentioned the planned shore leave and watched Shran feign surprise at the invitation to join them. All the official business out of the way, they soon disconnected. It was silent on the bridge for a moment before Trip spoke up.

“Guess I better pack my trunks then.”

* * *

The next morning saw Archer stepping from the shuttlepod, Porthos at his feet, onto the edge of a beautiful beach. It resembled a beach on Earth pretty much perfectly, except for the fact the sand was an enchanting mix of periwinkle and lavender hues. He heard Trip whistle as he hopped out of the pod, and nodded.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” he said as Trip slid past to find a spot he could lay down the sheets he’d brought with him. Malcolm stepped up beside him and nodded in the very stiff way he did.

“Very nice, sir,” he said, tugging his cap tighter over his head. Archer glanced across at him, and tried not to laugh at smudge of sunscreen that had been left on the lieutenant’s cheek. Phlox had been very liberal with the sun care when it came to their little English rose. Nodding at Archer, Malcolm trekked over the sand to find a spot beside Trip’s mini camp site.

Archer stood back, hands on his hips as he watched his crew fill the beach. There wasn’t a single uniform in sight, only shorts and in Trip’s case especially, garish shirts. He wasn’t sure exactly why so many of his crew members had packed swimwear on a space mission, but it was just as well, because they were revelling in the chance to be near water once again.

The rest were pulling out towels and finding a spot to soak up some sun, while a small group headed by Travis had made a beeline for a towering rock formation a mile or so down the beach; Phlox not far behind with a medikit, just in case.

As Porthos bounded into the water, Archer made his way to sit beside Trip and Malcolm. He dropped down beside them, shoes already kicked off so that he could bury them in the warm sand. There was a collective sigh of relief from all three men. They sat in relaxed silence for awhile; Trip lying back and ‘resting his eyes’, Malcolm reading a well thumbed copy of Ulysses and Archer throwing around the ball he had brought for Porthos to tackle.

Just as he was beginning to think about burying his chief engineer in the sand, Hoshi appeared, picking her way across the sand like a cat. She smiled down at him, hands on her hips.

“So when’s Commander Shran joining us?” she asked, a cheeky grin on her face. Archer tried not to blush, hoping it just looked like the heat was getting to him.

“He said he might be starting shore leave tonight,” he mumbled, staring out towards the sea. “Not that it’s anything to do with us,” he added, though it didn’t sound very convincing. It obviously hadn’t worked because Hoshi laughed loud enough to wake Trip.

“What we laughin’ about?” he slurred as he jerked awake. Malcolm smirked under the brim on his cap, and that was all Trip needed.

“Cap’n you feelin’ lonely?” The engineer crooned, leaning over to sling an arm across his captain’s shoulders. “I’m sure your star crossed lover will be with us soon.” Archer shrugged Trip’s arm off maybe a little too aggressively, but Trip snorted as he fell back against the stand and continued to laugh as Archer stood up.

“Anyways,” Archer said loudly, catching the attention of a few nearby crew members.

“I was thinking - who’s up for a game?”  He heard Trip groan behind him as he scooped up the ball, but it didn’t stop the engineer clambering to his feet. Hoshi grinned.

“I’m in,” she said, already making her way towards the sea. She waved T’Pol over on her way, the two of them waiting with their toes at the edge of the water. Trip was up and jogging after them, so Archer turned back to glance at Malcolm.

“You game Malcolm?” he asked. Malcolm’s face looked pinched as he laid his book down on the blanket, eyes watching the sea warily.

“If it’s all the same Captain, I’d… rather not,” Archer smiled, hoping it reassured him.

“No worries, how about you referee for us instead?” Malcolm looked surprised for a second, then nodded.

“Not that I’ve played any sort of polo before, but I’ll try,” he said, jumping to his feet. Archer clapped him on the back, laughing, as they headed towards the sea.

* * *

They ended up playing a somewhat butchered version of water polo; having no real goals they resorted to having a few crewmen stand in for goalposts, and despite Archer’s best efforts to explain the rules, nobody was in that much of a serious mood. There had been a lot of yelling over teams until Malcolm had called out from the shore that Operations would crush Command in an instant, which had fired up half of his armoury team.

They played for twenty minutes or so before Ensign Tanner called foul on Malcolm’s refereeing, to which Archer agreed. Their jeering was cut short when trip dove under the waves to pull Archer’s legs from under him, sending him under the waves. He surfaced with a grim look on his face, cold enough to have even Trip worried for a moment before he cracked, laughing as he took revenge by launching the ball at Trip’s head.

At that point Hoshi swam over, grabbed the ball and demanded the Science team be given a go. To both Archer and Trip’s horror, both teams were annihilated by the Science division - on numerous occasions and with at least five breaks to discuss ‘tactics’ - over the next few hours, leaving them to drag themselves to shore in shame while Liz Cutler and Hoshi crowed behind them.  

Mourning their loss, Archer barely noticed the shadows passing on the sand before him, until he heard a familiar voice.

“You’re really giving in that easily, pink skin?”

Archer looked up to find Shran, his crew fanning out behind him to find some of the more shaded spots of the beach. The Andorians didn’t seem to have summer wear exactly, but the trousers Shran was wearing were loose fitting at least, and he didn’t seem as Trip had joked earlier, to be melting in the heat either.

Archer smiled, and it got a small smile back, one that was seen more in the crinkling of Shran’s eyes and the subtle movements of his antennae. He shrugs, moving up the shore to stand level with Shran.

“I’ll beat them next time. Maybe I just need a secret weapon,” he says, giving Shran a sly look. “Tell me commander,” he lays a hand on Shran’s shoulder.

“How are you at water polo?”

* * *

The two of them - plus Porthos - walk along a secluded part of the beach, talking about nothing in particular, until just before dusk when the alarm on Archer’s watch tells him that the last shuttle back leaves in half an hour. Shran offers to walk him back, which he accepts. In the semi-darkness their hands find each others and they relish the last moments they have as just two men who are maybe a little bit in love, rather than high ranking officers in from only rently friendly worlds.

There’s a small inlet, just before the landing site, that’s almost entirely hidden from sight. The only place they can be alone, properly. Archer dips his head, and Shran pulls him close and they share a slow kiss against the rocks.  

Shran’s a little short of breath as he pulls away and straightens his shirt. He presses one last kiss to Archer’s cheek, and whispers.

“Till next time, Jonathan,” before stepping out onto the dark beach once again. Archer takes a moment to run a hand through his hair, before following suit. It’s too dark to see very far now, the only light on the otherwise uninhabited planet coming from the open door of the shuttlepod.

Travis leans out, waving Archer over and he jogs over, Porthos already ahead of him. The beagle is demanding attention from Travis as Archer climbs inside, finding only Trip and Hoshi are onboard with them.

“Is that all of us?” he asks and Travis nods.

“You’re the last one back Captain,” he says as starts entering commands into the panel before him. Trip looks as though he’s going to say something, but thinks better of it, and instead leans back with his eyes closed. Archer smiles as Porthos jumps onto his lap, curling up and dozing off pretty much instantly. All in all, Archer thinks, this has been one of their best shore leaves yet.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'alllllll enjoyed <3


End file.
